Basketball Recap: Eastern Hancock Takes a Loss

After flying high against Cowan last Saturday, Eastern Hancock came back down to earth. The Eastern Hancock Royals fell to the Wapahani Raiders 49-43. The Royals haven't had much luck with the Raiders recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.

Kayden Ruble

Field Goal Percentage

02/11/25 @ Wapahani	55%
02/08/25 @ Cowan	67%
02/06/25 vs Christel House	40%
02/01/25 @ Triton Central	100%
01/31/25 vs Lapel	45%
+ 12 more games

When it comes to explaining why Eastern Hancock lost on Tuesday, don't look at Kayden Ruble. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards. Thanks to that strong game, Ruble now owns an excellent 45.6% field goal percentage. Another player making a difference was Luke Schilling, who posted 11 points.

Even though they lost, Eastern Hancock smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in three consecutive contests.

Wapahani's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nate Luce, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Luce a new career-high in boards. Eli Andrews was another key player, going 5-for-10 on his way to 13 points.

Eastern Hancock's loss dropped their record down to 10-7. As for Wapahani, their victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-1.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Eastern Hancock will face off against Morristown at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for Wapahani, they will square off against Monroe Central at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Monroe Central's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last five matches.